No matter what we’re led to believe, the world’s worst polluter is not your cousin who refuses to recycle or that co-worker who drives a gas guzzler or the guy down the block who simply will not try CFL bulbs.
“The U.S. Department of Defense is the largest polluter in the world, producing more hazardous waste than the five largest U.S. chemical companies combined,” explains Lucinda Marshall, founder of the Feminist Peace Network.
Pesticides, defoliants like Agent Orange, solvents, petroleum, lead, mercury, and depleted uranium are among the many deadly substances used by the military.
What does this mean for us? To start with, it can help illustrate how to best foment a green revolution. As Derrick Jensen reminds us: “Even if every single person in the United States were to change all their light-bulbs to fluorescent, cut the amount they drive in half, recycle half of their household waste, inflate their tire pressure to increase gas mileage, use low flow shower heads and wash clothes in lower temperature water, adjusts their thermostats two degrees up or down depending on the season, and plant a tree, it would result in a one time, 21% reduction in carbon emissions.”
For those of you scoring at home, that’s a one time, 21% reduction in carbon emissions. We compost, we drive hybrids, we bring our own bag to the market but meanwhile, the U.S. military and its fellow polluters—trans-national corporations—treat the planet like it’s a porta-potty…with little or no opposition from the general population.
In fact, the military typically enjoys unconditional support even from those who identify as “anti-war.”
Keep this in mind the next time you hear the phrase “war on terror”: Our tax dollars are subsidizing a global eco-terror campaign and all the recycled toilet paper in the world ain’t gonna change that.
In other words, if we don’t want our legacy to be one of inaction and shame, we must create drastic, permanent change very, very soon…because here’s the most inconvenient truth of all: it’s time to embrace a much darker shade of green.
Mickey Z. is the author of two upcoming books: Self Defense for Radicals (PM Press) and his second novel, Dear Vito (The Drill Press). Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net
13 comments ↓
Mickey:
This article on military pollution is one of the best short pieces I've posted here in a long long time. This is an argument I've been trying to make to people who favor environmental cures coming from the government – why the hell should we trust these murderers, these polluters – to care for our environment?
Same goes, in my opinion, for "national health care" If anyone thinks I'm giving health choice over to a pack of murderers in D.C. – they've got another thing comin'
Step 1 is to end this nasty military destruction of people and the earth.
Wow, just wow… That's all I have to say to quite possibly the single most biased and anti-fact based article I've read in a very very long time.
Don't get me wrong, I don't know the legitimacy of the supposed "21% reduction in carbon emissions" that the author claims would be the result of "every single person" playing nice with the "extreme green team", but that is not my argument here. My argument is the complete lack of facts regarding the actual pollution caused by the US military.
This article is nothing more than your standard propaganda promoting fear and loathing in the eyes of the uninformed. Simply throwing in conveniently placed references to the Feminist Peace Network, Agent Orange (well, the whole list of commonly disliked substances for that matter), etc, the general populace reading this article would understandably be up in arms about the "facts" they just received.
I for one am calling BULLS*^T. There are many more factors that need to be assessed before you can make such extreme accusations against anyone for being the worst polluter in the world. There are varying degrees of severity with regards to types of pollutants and I guarantee you sir that the US Military is no where near on par with some of the Country's largest chemical companies. Not to pick on anyone in particular, but lets consider Johnson&Johnson for a second. Their specialties are soaps, detergents, petroleum based antibiotics, etc. Seems rather harmless no? Lets consider the by-products of the production of said chemicals, the containers (and their by-products as well), and of course the thousands upon thousands of commercial big-rig trucks need to transport the products…
Again, I don't know the numbers, but I'm willing to bet the number of commercial big-rig's in operation in the US today far surpasses the number of diesel powered vehicles in all of the US military.
Anyways, I got a little off track, my point here is to that you are a horrible journalist and I sincerely hope that you learn to criticize your articles before you post them on any sort of public forum.
Oh yeah, I'm in the US Military, the Marine Corps to be specific, and I love nothing more than the whine of the twin turbo's on my 8000lb. "Humvee" with two gigantic stacks of black smoke behind me like streamers of freedom in Johnny Muhammed's face.
Maybe you should move to Iraq and live in a mud-hut while getting sporadically shot at my everything from bb-guns to 150mm artillery shells. Then you might learn to keep your mouth shut when it comes to something that gives you the right to run your ignorant trap in the first place.
That is all.
"badass" we don't really like war-mongers here – or people who use veiled threats of violence against our writers- or any people for that matter. don't come back.
I'm left asking if you purposely skewed your information to push your agenda or if you seriously just didn't do your research.
The quote you cite from Lucinda was made in 2005, I noticed you omitted that fact. It's a shame, because China surpassed the US in pollution back in the 2006-2007 time frame and makes your entire diatribe look foolish and uneducated.
To add insult to injury, the obvious photoshop of humvees with what appears to be jet exhaust is particularly disturbing when coming from an author that presents himself as one who strives for the truth.
Overall, I'm quite disenchanted with the entire thing and I think the dismal lack of research combined with the obvious attempt to mislead your readers speaks volumes about how much credibility we can give your writing.
China surpassed the US in pollution sometime between 2006 – 2007. The quote cited from Lucinda is from 2005 and out of date in this context.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7347638.s...
May want to update your article to reflect the fact that it is no longer entirely accurate. I would suggest a format less "one nation" centric in favor of one that lays the blame for global pollution at the feet of the several rich nations heavy in production (production being the biggest contributor to pollution).
My two cents worth on Global Warming, polluting, and etc.
First Global Warming. Dear Mr. Badass. I invite you to do a close examination of the Vostok Ice Core samples and look at a 420,000 year record of Temperature, CO2 levels, and dust in the atmosphere. The graph is there for anyone to read. You begin to your right and read to the left. The Temperature line is Blue, The CO2 line is Green, and the Dust line is Red. Even Ray Charles can read the graph and see that an upswing in Temperature over the last 420,000 years has been followed by an upswing in CO2. Pay attention now – the temperature rise precedes the CO2 rise. So the next time a Global Warming proponent tries to blame the temperature rise on CO2 levels, just take him to those Vostok graphs and ask him why the graphs show just the opposite. The fact is that for the last 420,000 years, a rise in temperature has pulled up the CO2 level, not the other way around.
As to pollution. Is there anything worse than depleted Uranium pollution? How about the pollution of the innocent dead? Shouldn't that be a pollution of mankind's morality? USMC Badass, if you chose that name because you are in the Marine Corps, then I say we the people don't need you killing in our name.
When we moral people serve our time in the Military, we feel it an honor to be the beacon of light shown around the world, not some Badass who fails to recognize the evil in killing for the pleasure of it, or even worse, for a profit venture. That attitude has destroyed every Empire that has risen on Earth, and I am afraid it will destroy this country's legacy and as a consequence our standing in the world.
Get a moniker that good people would be proud of.
And while you're at it, learn some facts.
Mickey:
This article on military pollution is one of the best short pieces I've posted here in a long long time. This is an argument I've been trying to make to people who favor environmental cures coming from the government – why the hell should we trust these murderers, these polluters – to care for our environment?
Same goes, in my opinion, for "national health care" If anyone thinks I'm giving any health decisions over to a pack of murderers in D.C. – they've got another thing comin' I don't even want them to fund it with their stolen, looted money. Just let the people keep it at home.
Step 1 is to end this nasty military destruction of people and the earth.
While I agree that the military is a huge energy consumer and a prolific distributor of toxic substances all over the world, I suspect that the Agriculture and Meat industries actually both consume more and emit more (at least by volume if not toxicity) poison into the environment than the US military.
No, the author should not go to Iraq. Badass, you should not be there either.
and, what if you did some research and found out that your opinion is wrong? Would you ever think that it's foolish to go to the government for a problem that the government is the greatest cause?
Alright, the badass was probably a little uncalled for, as for the veiled threat of violence, I'm trying to find it/them… I simply invited the author to join us on the front lines for a little while, assuming you are referring to the Iraq comment. No harm no foul here folks. Just trying to play devil's advocate for the greater good.
But I can see Mr. Boldin does not care for my kind thus, I take my leave of this place that I would have never found in the first place if not for reddit
Wow, this writer is an idiot.
yup, you got it Joe. If you saying anything bad about the military, you’re clearly an “idiot”
I’d rather abolish the whole stinkin’ institution than hear that kind of crap anymore.
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